Prediction, the 1998 debut from German Power Metallers Voice, is an album full of fancy melodies, choppy guitar riffs, and more than a nod or two towards the Prog Metal scene of the early 90s. By far their most progressive release, it tips its hat to Dream Theater's first album, the best work of Queensryche, and even Vanden Plas, albeit with a strong Iron Maiden connection throughout. Not quite the band that would record the sharp, energetic, and far superior Trapped In Anguish (or for that matter, Golden Signs), Voice still manage to create a decent set of tunes here, most of the mid-paced variety.

Oliver Glas has such a distinctive voice, it's hard to imagine this band without him. He is the best thing about tracks like "Victim Of The Glory" and "Sand Creek", going for a solid, powerful tone much like that employed on later releases. The production is dry but with enough bite to capture attention, and the riffs are quite memorable (just check out the foot-tapping verse of "Project Daydream"). Admittedly, Prediction is not the best place to start with this seemingly lost act, but if you're in need of a good old fashioned Prog-Power Metal fix, you could save yourself a lot of time by picking this up.